Safety device of a lighter

ABSTRACT

A safety device of a lighter including a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat. The press section is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester. The press section includes a suspension arm formed with a wedge hole. A stake is fitted through the wedge hole of the suspension arm and relatively movable within the wedge hole for selectively releasing the stake from the interference of the wedge hole and permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to a lighter having simple structure and easily operable, and more particularly to an improved safety device installed on a lighter.

There are various types of safety devices installed on lighters for preventing the lighters from being unexpectedly ignited by children. For example, Taiwanese Patent Application No. 91203578 discloses a fixing bracket of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 88102379 discloses a safety device of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 85106865 discloses a lighter with protective ring. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 88220694 discloses an improved gas reservoir of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 90216111 discloses a childproof safety device of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 85200409 discloses a casing of a lighter. Taiwanese Patent Application No. 91208302 discloses a dislocation safety lighter.

Another conventional safety lighter includes a dog. A user can push the dog with the thumb and disengage the dog from the casing of the lighter. Under such circumstance, the user can press a press key to ignite the lighter. Such structure has some shortcomings. For example, the assembly of the press section and the dog is complicated and the dog must be transversely pushed. When transversely pushing the dog, an operator's thumb must be vertically placed over or in the axis of the lighter. Therefore, it is inconvenient for the operator to transversely push the dog with the thumb.

Taiwanese Patent Application No. 81216824 discloses a safety lighter with a security bar. The lighter has a press section which can be resiliently moved upward for igniting the lighter. A projecting bar is connected under the press section. A recessed shoulder section is formed between the press section and the projecting bar. A security bar is disposed on a base section of the upper frame near the fuel container. The security bar can be pulled downward. The press section is supported by a restoring spring. The security bar outward transversely extends to connect with an elongated bar and form a latch section for latching with the recessed shoulder section. The projecting bar can be biased to arrest the press section. Such design minimizes the possibility of unexpected ignition of the lighter by children. However, the structure of the lighter is complicated and the manufacturing cost is higher.

It is therefore tried by the applicant to provide a safety device of a lighter which has simplified structure and can be conveniently operated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a safety device of a lighter which has simplified structure and can be easily operated. The safety device includes a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat. The press section is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester. The press section includes a suspension arm formed with a wedge hole. A stake is fitted through the wedge hole of the suspension arm and relatively movable within the wedge hole for selectively releasing the stake from the interference of the wedge hole and permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above safety device of the lighter in which the wedge hole of the suspension arm has an arc end and a right angle end. When the stake is positioned at the right angle end of the wedge hole, the stake interferes with the press section and prevents the press section from being turned, while when the stake is relatively moved into the arc end of the wedge hole, the press section is released from the interference of the stake and permitted to be turned for ignition.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective assembled view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional side view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view according to FIG. 3, in which the press section of the present invention is pressed down; and

FIG. 5 is a view according to FIG. 3, in which the press section of the present invention is turned for ignition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The safety device of the lighter of the present invention includes a main body 10 having a fuel reservoir 11, a base seat 20 disposed at an upper open end 12 of the main body 10, an arrester 30 mounted in the main body 10, an ignition system 40 controlled by the arrester 30 and a valve member 50 for opening/closing the fuel reservoir 11. The base seat 20 has a symmetrically extending bottom section 21 formed with a stake hole 22. FIG. 3 shows that a resilient member 70 always forcedly positions an activation section 31 of the arrester 30 in a home position.

A press section 60 is arranged on the base seat 20. The press section 60 is movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the activation section 31 of the arrester 30. The press section 60 includes a suspension arm 61 having a linking section 63. The suspension arm 61 is formed with a wedge hole 62. A stake 80 is fitted through the stake hole 22 of the base seat and the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm for fixing the press section 60 and the suspension arm 61 on the base seat 20. A gap x is defined between the press section 60 and the base seat 20. The stake 80 is relatively movable within the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm 61 for selectively releasing the stake 80 from the interference of the wedge hole 62 and permitting the press section 60 to be turned for ignition. (This will be further described hereinafter.)

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the stake hole 22 of the base seat 20 has the same cross-sectional shape of the stake 80. In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape is a substantially semicircular shape including a straight section 23, 81 and an arc section 24, 82. The wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape having a right angle end 64 and an arc end 65. FIG. 3 shows that the safety device of the lighter is positioned in its home position. The stake 80 is positioned at the right angle end 64 of the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm. The straight section 81 of the stake 80 is snugly fitted in the right angle end 64 of the wedge hole 62 in an interference state. Under such circumstance, the press section 60 cannot be turned.

When an operator presses down the press section 60, the suspension arm 61 is moved downward as shown in FIG. 4. At this time, the stake 80 is relatively moved to the arc end 65 of the wedge hole 62. Under such circumstance, the interference between the straight section 81 and the right angle end 64 is discharged and the press section 60 can be turned. At this time, the arc end 65 of the wedge hole 62 of the suspension arm is rotated about the arc section 82 of the stake 80 as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 also shows that after turned, the linking section 63 of the suspension arm 61 of the press section depresses the activation section 31 of the arrester 30 to activate the ignition system 40 and make the valve member 50 open the fuel reservoir 11 to release fuel. When the operation force disappears, the resilient member 70 pushes the activation section 31 back to its home position, whereby the suspension arm 61 and the press section 60 are restored to their home position as shown in FIG. 3.

It should be noted that the gap x between the press section 60 and the base seat 20 is approximately equal to the travel of the stake 80 within the wedge hole 62. Without adding any parts to the structure, the shapes of the stake 80 and the wedge hole 62 are modified to cooperate with each other in achieving the security effect.

In conclusion, with simplified structure, the safety device of the lighter of the present invention provides a childproof security effect to ensure safety in use of the lighter.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. A safety device of a lighter comprising a main body having a fuel reservoir, a base seat, an arrester mounted in the main body, an ignition system controlled by the arrester, a valve member for opening/closing the fuel reservoir and a press section arranged on the base seat, the press section being movable and rotatable in a set path for driving the arrester, the press section including a suspension arm formed with a wedge hole, a stake being fitted through the wedge hole of the suspension arm and relatively movable within the wedge hole for selectively releasing the stake from the interference of the wedge hole and permitting the press section to be turned for ignition.
 2. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suspension arm of the press section has a linking section for driving the arrester.
 3. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wedge hole of the suspension arm has an arc end and a right angle end, whereby when the stake is positioned at the right angle end of the wedge hole, the stake interferes with the press section and prevents the press section from being turned, while when the stake is relatively moved into the arc end of the wedge hole, the press section is released from the interference of the stake and permitted to be turned for ignition.
 4. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base seat is disposed at an upper open end of the main body and has a symmetrically extending bottom section formed with a stake hole.
 5. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 4, wherein the stake is fitted through the stake hole of the base seat and the wedge hole of the suspension arm for fixing the press section and the suspension arm on the base seat.
 6. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 1, wherein a gap is defined between the press section and the base seat.
 7. The safety device of the lighter as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stake hole of the base seat has the same cross-sectional shape of the stake, the cross-sectional shape being a substantially semicircular shape including a straight section and an arc section. 